Nothing quiet about this Patriots offseason

Saturday

Mar 18, 2017 at 5:29 PM

By Rich Garven@RichGarvenTG

Less than 12 hours after the Patriots completed their historic comeback and defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, coach Bill Belichick pointed out the one drawback to a season that extended into February.

The Patriots — and Falcons — were playing from behind when it came to such critical matters as free agency, the draft, and evaluating their own roster and coaching staff.

“I know it seems like a long way off, but when you’re as far behind as Atlanta and New England are right now relative to the ’17 season, we have some catching up to do,” Belichick said on the morning of Feb. 6. “But it’s where we want to be, so no complaints.”

The Patriots made up ground fast because 25 days later they began remaking and reinforcing their roster.

“If you don’t do a good job with your football team in February, March and April, you’re probably going to see that in November and December and January,” Belichick said.

Early moves

It started with the release of talented, but oft-injured veteran tackle Sebastian Vollmer on March 3, an anticipated move that freed up $1.7 million or so in cap space, pushing the total to $59.7 million. Only five teams in the league had more space entering free agency and, unlike the Patriots, none made the playoffs last season.

Having that much financial flexibility is the most prominent example of how well run the Patriots are as they remain competitive year after year — as in six consecutive appearances in the AFC Championship Game, two leading to Lombardi Trophies — without mortgaging the future.

After a brief lull, the moves came fast and furious. The Patriots didn’t dip their toes into the trade and free agency markets, they dove in headfirst with a succession of transactions that caught everyone’s attention and led Vegas to lower the odds of the defending champions winning Super LII to a league-low 4-1.

And, as frequently is the case, the Patriots acquired players with high ceilings and low overhead. To use one of Belichick’s favorite catchphrases, they got “good value.”

The Patriots swung deals with the reviled Indianapolis Colts for tight end Dwayne Allen, the New Orleans Saints for receiver Brandin Cooks and the Carolina Panthers for defensive end Kony Ealy. Each player fills a major need.

Allen replaced Martellus Bennett, who priced himself out of New England with his strong season. The 6-foot-3, 255-pound Allen is smaller than Bennett by 3 inches and 20 pounds, but he’s three years younger at 27, under contract for three years, an equally outstanding blocker, and a serviceable receiver with 15 TD receptions in the last 40 games.

Cooks, a third-year pro, has 162 receptions for 2,311 yards (14.3 average) and 17 touchdowns in 32 games the last two years. He’s 23, under control for two seasons, a certified deep threat, and gives the Patriots an option with Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola entering the final year of their contracts.

The 6-4, 275-pound Ealy is a proven edge rusher acquired to help replace the departed duo of Chris Long and Jabaal Sheard. Ealy, who is 25 and entering the final year of his rookie contract, has 14 sacks in three seasons, plus another three during the Panthers’ run to Super Bowl 50.

It cost the Patriots 2017 draft picks in the first, second, third, and fourth rounds to land the talented trio, but they also got back selections in the third, fourth and sixth rounds to offset the loss.

Although the Patriots currently don’t have a pick in the first or second rounds they still have seven selections, including two in the third. (That’s after subtracting a fourth-rounder to finally fulfill their Deflategate debt.)

So they have the resources, which includes valuable trade chip Jimmy Garoppolo, to move up if they desire in their continued quest to fill other areas of need with defensive end, offensive tackle and, possibly, running back, topping the list.

Into free agency

Free agency brought Rex Burkhead, a potential four-down running back due to his rushing, receiving and special -teams skills, and defensive lineman Lawrence Guy, a certified run stuffer who has shown flashes as an interior pass rusher and, like Ealy, can play up and down the line.

Of course, the biggest splash came on the first day of free agency when the Patriots and cornerback Stephon Gilmore agreed to a five-year, $65-million deal with a minimum guarantee of $31 million on March 9. It’s the biggest deal the Patriots have given a free agent from another team, in this case the Buffalo Bills.

Gilmore is 26 and presumably entering the prime of his career, as his first Pro Bowl selection last season would seem to indicate. He’s big and long at 6-1 and 190 pounds, excels at man coverage and is a playmaker with 14 interceptions and an additional 48 passes defensed in five seasons.

The Patriots are literally banking on Gilmore — whose biggest red flag is having missed 12 games the last four seasons — being worth every million they’re paying him. That’s because they’ve left themselves open to criticism by not spending that money on cornerback Malcolm Butler.

The Patriots took care of linebacker Dont’a Hightower (finally), defensive tackle Alan Branch and safety Duron Harmon as well they should have. All three players are proven and productive performers who are popular with their teammates.

To date they’ve shown no interest in justly compensating the hardworking and humble Butler for the ridiculous value they’ve received since he made the team as an undrafted rookie in 2014. Butler was the savior of Super Bowl XLIX, selected to the Pro Bowl as a sophomore and named second-team All-Pro last season, for which he was (under)paid to the total tune of $1.53 million.

The Patriots are offering Butler $3.91 million to play for them this coming season. The restricted free agent has yet to sign his tender offer and is trying to facilitate a trade, with the Saints appearing to show the most interest.

If Butler can’t get another team to trade for him, he has few viable options other than to return to the Patriots and begrudgingly accept their offer, all the while not raising a ruckus so as to keep his pristine team-first image intact to better help sell himself next offseason when he’s due to be an unrestricted free agent.

However, other than their disappointing dealings with Butler, the Patriots have done a superb job of checking off items on their offseason punch list since getting a late start after winning their fifth Super Bowl.